Real alarm with Mbappé – AS.com

Vinicius' injury, a sporting drama for Real Madrid, had an intriguing side effect, to say the least: finally seeing Mbappé on the left winghis site, where he gained fame at PSG. Against Leganés he was already seen there and the general feeling was of improvement, an increase in appearances and his presence in the white game. It was time to endorse it on a big stage like Anfield, with Madrid pressed by the circumstances in the Champions League and he also by the fiasco of the Clásico. Not only did the Frenchman not improve that image; He managed to make it worse and was left without the alibi of the position. It is not the point or the wing, it is that this Mbappé, as Florentino Pérez already said in 2022, is not the Mbappé that was expected.

Because in the Classic he didn't get it right, but at least he tried. He shot three times, all three between the sticks and all three blocked by Iñaki Peña. He also scored a goal disallowed by a few centimeters and gave the impression of doing damage, although it later became cloudy when it was his turn to define. In Liverpool it was a different story: just two shots (when their average for the course was 4.7), only one between the sticks (he had been exceeding two per duel) and three good dribbles out of six, although all without generating important chances thanks to those overflows. The worst thing was that, with the ball, he neither hurt the rival nor ensured possession for his team: He was the Real Madrid player with the worst passing percentage (75%) and the one who lost the most balls (15) of the Whites.

And on top of that, he missed from eleven meters what would have been the tying goal. He had scored three this season, taking turns with Vinicius in that task. He missed on the fourth time, with all that plot to himself. His situation was commonplace in the appearances after the game, in which he received unwavering support. Also from Ancelotti: “It is a difficult moment for him, but he has everyone's support. We must look forward. There is a medicine, which is to be patient. The idea should be to play simple. Calm. This is temporary. He is an extraordinary player and the goals will come.”

At the moment there are nine goals in 18 games so far for Mbappé. Decent numbers, but earthly, far from what was expected from a supposed extraterrestrial who last season scored 44 in 48 duels with PSG. The problem with his goals is that, far from being those of an attacking all-rounder, as was thought, they are those of a small-area finisher, a record that is too specific. Of the nine, three have been penalties and only two have carried the seal of the expected player: his combination with Bellingham against Alavés and his long-range shot in Balaídos. There is no trace of the whirlwind in the race left by that iconic image of Piqué grabbing his shirt as the only resource to stop him during a Barcelona-PSG match in which he left with a hat-trick at the Camp Nou.

And to that is added that their influence in the big parties has been close to zero. It started well, with that goal against Atalanta to seal the European Super Cup in Warsaw. But little more. In the five games against important rivals of the course (he missed the derby against Atleti due to injury), that is, against Atalanta, Dortmund, Barcelona, ​​Milan and Liverpool, he has barely scored one goal (already mentioned) and one assist (in the comeback against Dortmund).

In his country they continue to criticize him. Riolo, former player and commentator at RMC, was very harsh on the Frenchman: “Beyond the missed penalty, we can see that Mbappé's head is upside down, even the way he shoots is horrible. Right now he is so bad, he exudes restlessness, he is not even a soccer player anymore. In the field he no longer does anything, he no longer achieves anything, he can no longer even run or move. It's really at the bottom of the mine. Do you remember seeing a player disappear like that?”.

Lewandowski ‘golea’ by Mbappé

And it won't be because I don't try. In the League, he is the player who shoots the most (57) and the one who shoots the most between the sticks (27), but the key is in his aim: Lewandowski has also taken ten fewer total shots (47), but in his case there were also 27 on goal, and 15 ended in a goal, while in the Frenchman's case there are only seven, less than half. The Pole's expected goals figure is somewhat lower (13.37), a sign that he is hitting above average, while Mbappé's is close to nine, as the opposite phenomenon happens to him. But the conversion rate of one and the other are two different worlds: 32% for the culé, just 12% for the madridista.

And in the Champions League, three quarters of the same: He is the second player who shoots the most, with 22 shots, tied with Harry Kane and surpassed only by Haaland (28). But both the Norwegian and the Englishman have five goals, while in his case it is only one, the one he scored (pushing into an empty goal) against Stuttgart. He also lacks luck in Europe (his expected goals figure is 3.5, two and a half more than he has) and His conversion rate is on the floor: just 4.5%, compared to the 47% that Lewandowski, the tournament's top scorer with seven goals, has.

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